Depression in Arab Adolescents: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Depression rates among Arab adolescents are expected to rapidly increase necessitating research-based data to aid in planning effective strategies to implement primary prevention and treatment interventions. The current study aimed to capture Jordanian adolescents' experience of depression, identify perceived contributing factors, and assess their attitudes toward depression interventions. An exploratory, qualitative design was used to collect data from 92 participants (age range = 14 to 17) through 12 focus groups. Two main analytical themes and related subthemes were identified. The first theme focused on participants' perceived mental health status, Being a Depressed Adolescent , with two related subthemes: Symptom Profiles and Feelings of Uncertainty and Perceived Roots of Depression . The second theme focused on the experience of Living With Depression and encapsulated two subthemes: Seeking Supportive Resources and Escaping From Labeling . The study revealed gender differences in the recognition of depression symptoms, willingness to seek care, the ability to communicate symptoms, expectations of care, and views on the best sources of help. For girls and boys, the fear of being labeled as mentally ill contributes to poor engagement in, adherence to, and use of mental health services. A comprehensive approach that considers Arab adolescents' beliefs, attitudes, and experiences in conjunction with the family and social context is needed to address the burden of adolescent depression in Arab nations. [ Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 57 (10), 34–43.]

Depression and anxiety among school adolescent females: A national study from Jordan

“…Within a school community, adolescent female mental health issues may go undetected if compared to a physical health issue for instance, particularly when there is a lack of trained school workers, nurses, school and educational psychologists or when there is limited awareness about mental health symptoms among this age group. In Jordan, adolescents who revealed depression related symptoms were unaware and uncertain that their symptoms were associated with depression (Dardas, Shoqirat, et al, 2019). This suggests that depression and anxiety among adolescents may go unrecognized and treatment be delayed.…”

“…This suggests that depression and anxiety among adolescents may go unrecognized and treatment be delayed. Further, the adolescents in Jordan reported low support from teachers in regards of problematic symptoms of mental issues, such as lack of concentration or irritability, which were often treated with discipline and punishment (Dardas, Shoqirat, et al, 2019). This is reinforced by another study of Jordanian adolescents with higher depression scores who indicated that they were less likely to actively seek professional sources for help with depression symptoms (Dardas, Silva, et al, 2019).…”

“…Published studies on adolescent depression and anxiety within Jordan are narrow in focus and few in number (Alslman et al, 2017;Dardas, Shoqirat, et al, 2019;Dardas et al, 2018aDardas et al, , 2018bDardas, Silva, et al, 2019;Malak & Khalifeh, 2018). Overall, the evidence of most of these published studies focus more on depression (Dardas, Shoqirat, et al, 2019;Dardas et al, 2018aDardas et al, , 2018bDardas, Silva, et al, 2019;Malak & Khalifeh, 2018) than anxiety despite the prevalence of anxiety among this age group (Alslman et al, 2017;Malak & Khalifeh, 2018). Despite these gaps, these studies from Jordan provide some beginning evidence of prevalence and associated factors of these two mental concerns.…”

A Voice from the Middle East

“…Such loss from war and conflict has become all too familiar in recent times. Several studies consider the loss of loved ones a reason for depression and suggest a strong positive correlation between loss and depression rates (Clements et al, 2004;Dardas et al, 2019;Hickman, 1994). The main character of the story, 9-year-old Zahraa, loses her parents and moves to live with her father's cousin and his wife in Alexandria, Egypt.…”

Knowledge Extraction Methods as a Measurement Tool of Depression Discovery in Saudi Society

“…In [29,30], a survey was conducted in a high school in Saudi Arabia and the prevalence of depression between the students was 17% and 33.4%. Besides, the survey achieved by [24] was carried out in Jordan with a sample of 3,292 adolescents, also another research with 92 adolescents [31,32], it presents a systematic review of studies conducted on the UAE population relating to depression.…”